- US regime orders steep Colorado River water cuts for Arizona, California and Nevada
Source: ABC News
“With the two largest reservoirs in the nation struggling with record-low water levels and the Colorado River, which feeds them, facing years of drought amplified by climate change, the federal government had hoped that the seven states that draw water from the river could reach an agreement on how to divvy up the shrinking supply. After they failed to do so, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) stepped in. On Friday, the agency ordered steep cuts to the amount of Colorado River water that will be delivered to California, Nevada and Arizona. … The agency didn’t mandate reductions to the Upper Basin states, including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico, as it doesn’t have the same legal authority over the upper part of the Colorado River. But it is asking those states to agree to operate the Flaming Gorge, Navajo and Aspinall reservoirs in order to send water down and protect Glen Canyon Dam.” (08/21/26)
https://abcnews.com/US/federal-government-orders-steep-colorado-river-water-cuts/story?id=135856655
- Chinese humanoid robot breaks 100 meter sprint record set by Usain Bolt
Source: United Press International
“A Chinese humanoid robot on Saturday ran a 100-meter sprint in 9.32 seconds, surpassing the world record set by Jamaican legend Usain Bolt. The robot, named Lightning and produced by robotics company Honor, reached a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second during a test run. Lightning is one of 2,000 robots participating in the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. The robot’s sprint on Saturday was .26 seconds faster than Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds, set 17 years ago at Berlin’s World Athletics Championships. Another robot cleared 2.88 meters at the standing high jump, higher than the 2.45-meter world record set by Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor in 1993.” (08/22/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/08/22/robot-record-bolt/1151787452252/
- Dozens of attacks in southern Thailand wound three people
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Dozens of coordinated arson and incendiary attacks across Thailand’s south left at least three people wounded and government property burned, the military has said. Multiple local government offices and several vehicles were damaged or destroyed in the 51 attacks late on Saturday, according to the military’s Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC). … Since 2004, a low-level conflict has simmered in the southernmost provinces of Buddhist-majority Thailand, killing more than 7,000 people, as rebels in the Muslim-majority region battle for greater autonomy. No group has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attacks.” (08/23/26)
- Myanmar: Fourteen killed in strike on monastery
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Fourteen people were killed in military air strikes at a monastery in Myanmar early on Friday, opposition fighters and a local rescue worker have said. All of those killed were elderly and a number of monks were also injured, the rescue worker told BBC Burmese, adding that the site was struck twice. … Civilians had reportedly gathered at the site for a meditation retreat to mark Buddhist Lent. Myanmar’s military has not commented.” (08/22/26)
- Trump Urges Court to Reject BBC’s Discovery Subpoenas in Frivolous Defamation Case
Source: US News & World Report
“President Donald Trump has urged a federal judge to reject the BBC’s request for the court’s help in securing testimony and documents from three family members in response to his $10 billion [frivolous] defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster. The BBC is trying to gain ‘politically-driven leverage’ over Trump by serving subpoenas on daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and son Donald Trump Jr., personal lawyers for the Republican president argued in a court filing Friday. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz in Miami did not immediately rule on the dispute.” (08/22/26)
- CA: Newsom signs controversial “Stop Nick Shirley Act” into law
Source: New York Post
“Gov. Gavin Newsom signed California’s controversial ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’ into law on Saturday, just days after a radical [sic] left-wing [sic] operative [sic] crashed the journalist’s Capitol interview and launched a crude personal attack on him. Assembly Bill 2624 expands California’s Safe at Home program to employees of nonprofits that serve people navigating the immigration system. Critics have blasted the measure as a way to intimidate people ‘trying to shine light on bad behavior.’ The law takes effect Oct. 1, 2027. … Shirley, an independent journalist and YouTuber, has made videos following immigrant workers and accusing them of fraud. … On Wednesday, Shirley was conducting a sidewalk interview outside the California State Capitol in Sacramento when Terry Schanz, chief of staff to Democratic Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor, allegedly barged into the encounter. … He held up a printed flyer and asked: ‘Did you guys hear that Nick Shirley has a small penis allegedly?'” (08/22/26)
- Somali pirates hijack oil tanker off Yemen in latest attack
Source: ABC News
“Somali pirates hijacked an oil products tanker off Yemen, a Somali maritime security official said, the latest in a resurgence of piracy that has seen six commercial vessels seized since April across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean. Six armed pirates hijacked the Eritrean-flagged M.T. Sibu 1 on Thursday about 136 nautical miles (252 kilometers) east of al-Mukalla, Yemen, and took it toward Somalia’s Puntland coast, the official, who has knowledge of the incident, told The Associated Press on Friday. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to discuss the matter publicly. The Sibu 1, managed by the UAE-based Qatrat Alnada Almasi Ship Management, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department last year for allegedly belonging to an Iranian ‘shadow fleet’ used to transport petroleum products seeking to evade U.S. sanctions.” (08/22/26)
- DR Congo: Regime, M23 rebels agree roadmap for peace talks
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The Democratic Republic of Congo government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group have agreed a roadmap for peace talks. In a joint statement after five days of talks in Switzerland, they said they had pledged to ‘pursue negotiations towards comprehensive peace and conflict resolution’ and set up a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire. The roadmap sets out a timeline for talks under a US-brokered peace framework which they signed in 2025 – only for fighting to then continue in eastern DR Congo, which has been engulfed in conflict for decades. But disagreements remain over issues including sanctions against M23, the release of detainees and the timing of political reforms.” (08/23/26)
- Appeals court overturns verdict in undercover sting of Democratic operatives
Source: Politico
“A federal appeals court handed conservative activist James O’Keefe a significant legal victory Friday, tossing out a $130,000 judgment a Democratic consultant won against him over an undercover video sting tied to the 2016 presidential election. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said that award, which followed a 2022 jury trial, violated the First Amendment by muddling together the consequences of legal activity by O’Keefe and his group, Project Veritas, with unlawful aspects of its infiltration of the consulting firm, Democracy Partners. The video, which Project Veritas released weeks before the 2016 general election, contended that Democracy Partners and its founder, Robert Creamer, were seeking to foment violence at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s rallies. … Creamer and his firm sued Project Veritas and O’Keefe, claiming illegal wiretapping, trespass, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.” (08/21/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/21/james-okeefe-appeal-democratic-operative-sting-01046426
- Federal judge blasts Rubio’s 75-country visa freeze as “Orwellian,” strikes down policy
Source: Fox News
“A federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s freeze on immigrant visas from 75 countries Friday, ruling Secretary of State Marco Rubio lacked the legal authority to order denials for applicants otherwise found eligible to enter the United States. U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, a Biden appointee in Manhattan, vacated the State Department policy and any visa refusals based solely on it, directing the government to revisit those cases. ‘The Court holds that the Policy is contrary to law and was issued in excess of Secretary Rubio’s statutory authority,’ Vargas wrote in her 61-page opinion.” (08/22/26)
- EU: Uber hit with nearly $1 billion bribe demand for automatically deactivating drivers
Source: Engadget
“Uber has allegedly violated the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) again, but this time to the tune of a 824.9 million euro, or $966 million, fine. The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP), or the Dutch Data Protection Authority, hit Uber with the massive fine, accusing the company of automatically deactivating driver accounts between 2018 and 2022 without human intervention. According to the Dutch regulatory agency, Uber has deprived its drivers of income through fully automated decisions, violating the GDPR in the process.” [editor’s note: Even if there was anything improper about that, note the word “fine.” It’s not restitution to the supposedly wronged drivers, it’s just bureaucrats demanding a huge bribe – TLK] (08/22/26)
- LAPD investigates Nicolas Cage movie that went missing at Netflix
Source: SFGate
“A dispute between a producer and Netflix over a missing copy of a WWII spy drama starring Nicolas Cage has now reached the Los Angeles Police Department. A law firm representing producer Simon Afram filed a report with the Hollywood Community Police Station, accusing Netflix of losing a drive with a copy of his WWII film, ‘Fortitude’ last month and not providing information on the streamer’s investigation into the issue. ‘This report is being made on an emergency basis, as there is reason to believe that Netflix, Inc. and its employees are suppressing and/or spoliating evidence of the theft of an asset with a cost of $45 million to create and a likely sale value of over twice that amount,’ according to Afram’s complaint which was viewed by The Times. … Netflix said in a statement last month that it is conducting an investigation and is offering to monitor piracy sites for any authorized distribution or sale of the film.” (08/22/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/lapd-investigates-nicolas-cage-movie-went-missing-22398666.php
- SCOTUS allows Trump’s ballroom construction to proceed for now
Source: Axios
“The Supreme Court ruled Friday that President Trump’s sprawling ballroom project can proceed for now, despite a lower court’s ruling that halted the administration’s plans. The decision is a major win for the administration, which has argued that demolishing the White House’s East Wing and building the ballroom are necessary for security. In a brief order, Chief Justice John Roberts paused the halt the D.C. District Court put on construction while the court weighs his request. It did not address the legality of Trump’s project or give a timeline for when the court will weigh in.” (08/21/26)
https://www.axios.com/2026/08/21/trump-ballroom-construction-supreme-court
- Hong Kong: Tiananmen activists convicted in “national security” show trial
Source: BBC News [UK]
“Two Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown have been found guilty of inciting others to subvert state power under the city’s controversial national security [sic] law. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison after being convicted under the China-introduced law. Sentencing is expected at a later date. A third defendant, Albert Ho, 74, pleaded guilty in January. Lee and Chow ‘incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power’, according to a summary on Friday. Chow told the court in May the law itself was on trial.” (08/21/26)
- Bitcoin, ether and solana climb as another $1 billion shorts get wiped out
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin rose above $77,000 in European morning hours on Friday as it advanced for a fifth straight day. The largest cryptocurrency is up about 8% in 24 hours and 22% over the week. Short sellers took another beating, as roughly $1.2 billion of short positions were liquidated over 24 hours out of $1.4 billion in total, across 156,211 traders, CoinGlass data show. … Bitcoin’s market value now stands at $1.5 trillion, still some 40% below the record above $126,000 set last October.” (08/21/26)
- Ukraine: Russian drones hit border crossing with Moldova in overnight strike
Source: euronews [EU]
“A border crossing with Moldova in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region was damaged by Russian drones overnight, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in a statement on Friday morning. Traffic through the Tabaky checkpoint has been suspended and diverted to other crossings, the border service said on Telegram. Moldovan authorities in Chișinău have been informed, the statement added. The announcement comes a day after a Romanian F-16 fighter jet destroyed an explosive-laden maritime drone close to Europe’s largest offshore gas project, hours after another drone entered the NATO member’s airspace and crashed near the Ukrainian border. … Some European officials described the incidents as Moscow testing NATO’s response, which raised questions about how prepared the alliance is against potential threats from Russia.” (08/21/26)
- Tunisia: Opposition protests against president amid economic discontent
Source: Reuters
“Activists and opponents of Tunisian President Kais Saied took to the streets of Tunis on Thursday, calling for his departure and the restoration of democracy in the latest protest against his governance amid growing political and economic discontent. Hundreds of protesters said they reject ‘one-man rule’ and ‘a slide towards dictatorship,’ and urged the release of jailed opposition figures, activists and journalists. A similar demonstration took place last month, coinciding with the anniversary of measures by Saied on July 25, 2021, when he dismissed the government and later dissolved the elected parliament and began governing by decree.” (08/20/26)
- China: Regime Buys Saudi Crude in Rare Tender as Imports Stay Muted
Source: Bloomberg
“China has bought millions of barrels of Saudi crude offered via a rare tender and under long-term contracts, although overall purchases still remain well below pre-war levels. State-run refiners PetroChina Co. and Sinochem Group, along with Unipec — the trading arm of Sinopec Group — and private processor Rongsheng Petrochemical Co., bought a combined 10 million barrels of Arab Medium and Heavy grades in a tender, said traders familiar with the matter. The oil is for prompt loading. … Aramco offered spot supplies of sulfur-rich crude from locations outside of the Strait of Hormuz for loading as soon as this month. The grades are produced within the Persian Gulf, suggesting the kingdom may be finding ways to move more barrels through the waterway.” (08/20/26)
- Romania destroys marine drone near Neptun Deep gas project, minister says
Source: Reuters
“Romania scrambled F-16 fighter jets to destroy a marine drone spotted a few hundred metres from the Black Sea gas project Neptun Deep, Defence Minister Radu Miruta said on Thursday. The incident underscores the growing threat to critical energy infrastructure in the Black Sea from drones and mines linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine, with Neptun Deep expected to make Romania the European Union’s largest gas producer when it comes onstream in 2027. NATO-member Romania shares a 614-km (382-mile) land border with Ukraine and has seen Russian drones breaching its airspace over the last four years and mines floating in the Black Sea across key trade and energy routes. Thursday’s incident follows similar action earlier this month when army divers destroyed two Gerbera-type drones drifting in the exclusive economic zone near the offshore Neptun Deep project.” (08/20/26)
- FBI raids former congresscritter Eric Swalwell’s home, seizes devices in probe tied to sexual assault claims
Source: CNN
“Federal agents seized electronic devices from former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell at the San Francisco airport on Saturday and then raided his home in Washington, DC, the next day as part of an ongoing probe connected to sexual assault allegations, sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. Swalwell and his lawyer did not immediately respond to messages from CNN. Swalwell resigned from Congress in April after reporting from CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle detailed allegations of sexual misconduct. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department opened criminal investigations into Swalwell in the wake of the reporting. The raids this weekend are part of a federal investigation connected to the claims of sexual assault, the sources told CNN.” (08/20/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/20/politics/eric-swalwell-fbi-raid-sexual-assault-claims-invs
- Another tragedy of the absence of capitalism
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall“We hear enough of how appalling capitalism is in this modern world. We should, perhaps, pay more attention to the disasters that befall those in the absence of capitalism: ‘More than 100 people have died after an artisanal goldmine at a small village in western Central African Republic (CAR) caved in’ …. ‘Artisanal’ in mining terms means men with shovels and little else but a shovel and their labour. … this is non-capitalist mining. The safer way to mine is to perhaps run with an open pit. Or, if tunnelling, to shore up said tunnels. But both of these options require much more money to be spent before there is any revenue from output. They require capital that is. ” (08/21/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/another-tragedy-of-the-absence-of-capitalism
- MAGA and the DSA, Part Two: Differences Between These Populist Antagonists
Source: American Greatness
by Thaddeus G McCotter“America’s dueling populist movements, the Right’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) and the Left’s Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), both believe a powerful, unaccountable entity or entities are unfairly exploiting them and obstructing their personal pursuit of happiness, often colluding among themselves to do so. Exacerbating the situation, at least one of these powerful organizations, the government, is charged with protecting the individual from this very exploitation. Consequently, it is the collusion between the ‘Bigs’ into what G. K. Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc deemed ‘business government’ that the respective populist movements seek to remedy. Yet, here is where MAGA and the DSA radically differ in their prescriptions.” (08/22/26)
- The Forgotten World of Thornton W. Burgess
Source: Law & Liberty
by Danton Kostandarithes“The motifs of pre-teen children’s stories reflect much about a society: what it values and what it aspires to become. Recent winners of the coveted Newberry and Caldecott prizes are illustrative. Recurrent themes include personal identity, mystical powers, the importance of discovering one’s heritage, and the challenge of navigating cultural boundaries. A common thread is non-judgmentalism, since sharp distinctions between right and wrong would be too harsh in our therapeutic world. Of course, we should never want a child to feel bad about him or herself needlessly, or to endure insecurity about who they are. However, the absence of strict ethical lessons and stern advice in modern children’s stories mirrors and reinforces the moral relativity so prevalent in our current culture.” (08/21/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-forgotten-world-of-thornton-w-burgess/
- Our Entire Civilization Is Run By Oligarchs And Empire Managers
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“The Wall Street Journal has a new article out titled ‘The Hidden Debt That Apple Owes to the CIA’, subtitled ‘Without CIA funding that helped keep NeXT afloat in the ’80s, Steve Jobs might not have made a triumphant return to Apple — and the iPhone might not have its foundational operating code.’ All the top tech giants have deep ties to the CIA. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon. Facebook and Instagram are overseen by ‘former’ CIA operatives. Our whole civilization is run by an alliance of oligarchs and empire managers. … In a recent interview with Israel Hayom, Israeli ‘Minister of Diaspora Affairs’ Amichai Chikli said that Zionists need to ‘cooperate with the conservative mainstream, American and European, against radical Islam.’ Chikli argued that the western right doesn’t care about antisemitism, so it doesn’t make sense to place emphasis there, but ‘radical Islam interests them very much’.” (08/22/26)
- The US Debt Hit 40 Trillion Dollars. Washington Chooses Inflation Over Solvency.
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey“Here we are! We finally made it to $40 trillion in debt! Should we celebrate or hibernate? Congratulations, we are a debtor nation. I can tell you that those responsible for accumulating the nation’s massive debt care little; whether you are talking about the Republicans or the Democrats, they both agree on spending far more money than we have coming in. For all the talk of fiscal restraint, the spending continues, and we’re paying over $1 trillion per year just to pay the interest on the debt, not paying down the debt. This crowds out our ability to pay for necessary obligations, including Social Security, Medicare, and our nation’s defense.” (08/21/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/the-us-debt-hit-40-trillion-dollars
- The Cost of Conspiracy
Source: EconLog
by Jon Murphy“People conspire all the time. Firms collude. Politicians bargain behind closed doors. Militaries deceive their enemies. But other conspiracies are detected, or they do not last long. Why do some remain secret while others are revealed? A simple game theory model can help illustrate that the probability of a conspiracy being revealed depends on the number of independent choosing individuals whose cooperation is necessary, and the incentives those individuals face. The basic intuition of what makes it hard to keep a conspiracy a secret is not new. But there are interesting implications for institutional design.” (08/21/26)
- Another Trump-Kim Carnival?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Jeffrey Robertson“A Trump-Kim summit would be a spectacle like no other. A carnival extravaganza with the Korean Peninsula holding center stage, and every handshake, expression, seating arrangement, and stray remark dissected by troupes of North Korea pundits across the world’s news networks. But like any great traveling carnival, a few days later ticket holders will be left with an uncomfortable queasiness and a sense that they’ve somehow been cheated. Spectacle, not strategy.” (08/21/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/jeffrey_robertson/2026/08/20/another-trump-kim-carnival
- Not Racist to Notice Things, Racist to Pretend You Don’t
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter“As a charge, ‘racism’ is completely irrelevant in 2026. ‘Wolf’ has been cried so many times that even if it were a wolf crying it, no one would believe it or care. I should say ‘almost no one’. Democrats would still try to make something out of it, and Al Sharpton and Ben Crump would come to perform a little bullshit two-step for the cameras and the checks. But otherwise, no one would care because, well, it is not racist to notice things. Don’t get me wrong, racism still exists, but the most glaring way in which it exists is in the hearts and minds of leftists. It is no longer racist to judge someone by the color of their skin and treat them differently because of it; that’s half the platform of the Democrats (both the regular old kind and the Socialists of America type).” (08/22/26)
- If everything’s a conspiracy, nothing’s a conspiracy
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Adam Goldstein“How a Reconstruction-era law built to crush the Klan, and tested against the Mafia, ended up silencing people for journalism and memes.” (08/21/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/if-everythings-conspiracy-nothings-conspiracy
- The Telephone and the Brief Episode of “Imperfect” Competition (1894–1906)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joshua Mawhorter“Many mistakenly assume that, on a free market, high barriers to entry and start-up costs so privilege the monopolistic incumbents that it would be virtually impossible for other firms to compete. In such an environment, competition is said to either be improbable or impossible, or—where competition could presumably exist—it is said to be inconvenient or duplicative. Hopefully the reader can see the question-begging in such claims and how the conclusion is presupposed against competition—there is either said to be no competition or there is said to be too much competition. Thus, the public goods argument for ‘public utilities’ and the myth of ‘natural monopoly’ combine to argue that the state ought to provide certain services to prevent market failure and monopoly.” (08/21/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/telephone-and-brief-episode-imperfect-competition-1894-1906
- What Would a Brutally Honest Man Look Like?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Filipe Rafaeli“iogenes was one of the most iconic philosophers of ancient Greece. He roamed the streets of Athens in broad daylight carrying a lit lantern. When asked why he was performing such an unusual scene, Diogenes would reply that he was looking for an honest man. He never found one. More than two thousand years later, Diogenes’ questioning remains just as valid and relevant as much of the teachings of the ancient Greek philosophers.” (08/21/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/what-would-a-brutally-honest-man-look-like/
- Defeating the Donroe Doctrine: Latin America Can Resist Trump’s Gunboat Racketeering
Source: Common Dreams
by Nancy Okail & Michael Paarlberg“‘American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again’, declared the State Department in a new video tying, somewhat improbably, the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 to killing people on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific 200 years later. Blowing up speedboats supposedly to stop fentanyl smuggling (which notably does not come to the US on speedboats) appears senseless. As a counter-narcotics strategy, it is ineffective, an assessment echoed by the DEA. The performative violence overshadows its role in building a new US policy towards the hemisphere: acts of murder as a tool to create permanent structures of US dominance and extraction.” (08/22/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/what-is-trump-s-donroe-doctrine
- New Mexico – “what’s free speech worth?”
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton“The most recent stupidity generated in Santa Fe is an attack on various satirical publications. Most notably, the Babylon Bee. As reported by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), New Mexico has joined two other States in requiring warnings on all AI-generated political content, and on prohibiting such content within a certain window of time before elections. (We are unsure and were not able to confirm which two States are similar, but suspect it is California and Hawai’i. Although other source suggest it is Texas and Colorado.) But what we did discover is that the problem is far more than just three States.” (08/21/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/08/21/new-mexico-whats-free-speech-worth/
- Natalie Harp and the American Don (Juan)
Source: Liberal Currents
by Alan Elrod“Harp’s letters are intimate, obsessive, tinged with romance and a slavish devotion to the man currently laying waste to the American republic. They are the sign of someone who, if not in love, is undeniably taken with Trump in a way that goes beyond even the intensities of schoolgirl adoration. As one commenter put it, her writing is ‘not a love letter, it’s a cult devotional.’ The love question, at least in its physical dimension, strikes me as a superficial concern anyway. I agree with commentators like Jonathan V. Last that this is almost certainly not a sexual relationship. I have argued previously that the psychosexual unmooring of the American right is a central part of our descent into authoritarianism. The obsession with Trump himself has often veered into a set of lurid, fantastical projections.” (08/22/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/natalie-harp-and-the-american-don-juan/
- Abolish the Department of Education? Yes, but Don’t Stop There
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by George Leef“When Jimmy Carter ran for president in 1976, he received support from the teachers’ unions, and to pay them back, he pushed for the Department of Education as a means to help the unions solidify their control and squeeze out more money than they could get just from states and localities. There was no public demand for federal meddling in education — this was pure, special-interest politics. … When Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States in 1830, he noted in his famous book Democracy in America that the level of literacy here was amazingly high, without any government involvement. How, then, did what we call ‘public education’ get started?” (08/21/26)
- Trump is bad for America. But he might be good for the world.
Source: Washington Post
by Zachary Karabell“It has not been a banner summer for the United States. The country is mired in a war with Iran with no graceful exit opportunities; a new round of tariffs threatens to further disrupt fragile global trade relations; and the domestic economy faces inflation combined with paltry growth. President Donald Trump has not been a positive force for the U.S. this year, and many of his administration’s policies don’t bode well for the future. But by weakening America, Trump may strengthen the rest of the world.” (08/21/26)
- The $140 Billion Public-College Myth
Source: Cato Institute
by Andrew Gillen“The public’s confidence in higher education is falling rapidly. The share of the public that has confidence in higher education declined from 57% in 2015 to 38% in 2026. As colleges and their advocates try to win back the public’s confidence, one of their strongest arguments is that college is worth it for both students and for the country broadly. While it is true that a college education generally pays off for the typical student, there are a few problems with this view. The biggest, and most obvious, problem to note is that there are many predictable cases in which college is not worth it from a financial perspective.” (08/21/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/140-billion-public-college-myth
- Don’t be fooled by Hochul’s act; she’s just as radical as Mamdani
Source: New York Post
by Michael Goodwin“New Yorkers who pay close attention to such things have long understood why Gov. Hochul deserves her reputation for being the Waffler-In-Chief. Time and again, she’s revealed herself to be the consummate weather vane, shifting her stance on important matters depending on which way the wind is blowing. For novices interested in seeing a prime example, I recommend an article about an interview the governor gave last week to The New York Times. True to the Gray Lady’s political tilt to the left, the resulting article is puffery to the extreme. So, too, is a longer Saturday article where the paper goes to great lengths to separate Hochul from City Hall’s nasty and incompetent roll-out of the pied-à-terre tax.” (08/22/26)
- “Orcas” with likely inside info win big on Trump Jr.-funded Polymarket
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Stavroula Pabst“The Trump-connected Polymarket is likely helping gamblers with inside military information cash in on wars the president wages. According to Reuters, a report by the Anti-Corruption Data Collective found that 152 ‘exceptionally successful’ Polymarket wallets otherwise known as ‘Orcas’ may have traded on inside military information to place high-stakes bets on critical U.S. defense operations, including the June 2025 attacks on Iran. According to the non-profit research group, these wallets had a 97.2% success rate and won $8 million collectively. President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., is an adviser for Polymarket. 1789 Capital, his venture capital firm, invested in the platform soon after it was founded. Moreover, Trump Jr. and his brother, Eric Trump, continue to profit from defense industry investments as the war with Iran continues.” (08/21/26)
- When Paris Went Hungry Under Government Food Controls
Source: The Daily Economy
by Daniel J Smith“During the French Revolution, authorities in Paris turned to ‘a series of ventures in price-fixing and food control’ to ensure people did not go hungry. It didn’t work as planned.” (08/21/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/when-paris-went-hungry-under-government-food-controls/
- Hayek and the Road Abandoned
Source: Fre Association
by Sheldon Richman“When Hayek was writing, the air was filled with the poisonous creed that, with individual freedom obsolete, central planning of society was the future. The wise ones understood that collectivism was the order of the new day and that no one could be allowed to thwart the leader or ‘the people.’ Fewer and fewer people were aware of what was being lost: a civilization marked by a custom-shattering, liberating individualism that brought commerce, innovation, and progress without a single imposed plan.” (08/21/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-hayek-and-the-road-abandoned
- El-Sayed May Be Winning. But He Should Run Like He’s Losing
Source: Washington Monthly
by Bill Scher“If the Democrats’ brash Senate nominee in Michigan believes only the good polls and not the bad, he may wrongly conclude he need not adjust to woo swing voters.” (08/21/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/08/21/el-sayed-may-be-winning-but-he-should-run-like-hes-losing/
- The Forty-Trillionth
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“One presidency was just not enough for Donald Trump. But what will he be remembered as? It is possible that his tombstone will have a forty-something on it, but the ‘th’ may very well stand for ‘trillionth’ — for under his watch the public debt of the federal government rolled over on Wednesday, past $40 trillion. I remember when people held signs up emblazoned with ‘No Trillion Dollar Debt!’ How ‘forty years ago’ is that?” (08/21/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/08/21/the-forty-trillionth/
- That Stunning [sic] Florida Senate Win
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner“Until this week’s Florida primary, corporate and AIPAC Democrats could comfort themselves with the belief that the surge of democratic socialists was largely limited to a few big cities and college towns. But then DSA member Angie Nixon, a three-term state rep from Jacksonville, trounced the impeccably credentialed centrist Alex Vindman by 12 points. Vindman, with heavy AIPAC and corporate support, had outraised Nixon 19-to-1, having a war chest of more than $16 million compared to Nixon’s less than a million. Nixon’s victory was so improbable that she was not even on the radar of DSA, which did not bother to endorse her. … Expecting to cruise to victory in the primary, Vindman did not deign to campaign, saving his war chest for the general election.” (08/21/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/21/stunning-florida-senate-win-angie-nixon-dsa/
- How Western Belligerence Helps Putin Hold Onto Power
Source: The American Conservative
by Leonid Ragozin“As the liberal Yabloko party got dropped from the ballot, a chorus of analysts came up with predictable claims that Putin increasingly fears his own people. Ukrainian deep strikes and Western sanctions, the story goes, have forced him to tighten the screws to try to prevent social unrest. Also predictably, another story in the hackneyed ‘Russia is finished’ genre is making headlines: Russia’s major state-run bank VEB has fired its chief economist Andrey Klepach for making dark predictions of the country’s future. One can only pity the professional doomsayers for the shortage of really inspiring stories as they try—for the umpteenth time—to sell the idea that Ukraine should suffer for just a little while longer in hopes of Russian collapse.” (08/21/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-western-belligerence-helps-putin-hold-onto-power/
- I Bought Beans at the Government Store
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Ryan Devine“Azalea Fresh Market opened last September to address a growing demand for a grocery store in downtown Atlanta. Its opening was the result of a partnership between the City of Atlanta, the Independent Grocers Alliance, and a successful local mini-grocery store chain, Savi Provisions. With no major grocery company inclined to open a location in the downtown area, the City of Atlanta managed to contribute roughly $8 million in cash, loans, and grants to provide the infrastructure needed to help open the business …. Given the intent behind the establishment of this store, it’s difficult to imagine why it’s gaining so much praise from advocates for Zohran Mamdani’s proposed government-owned markets. Mamdani’s goal isn’t to target food deserts; he aims to outprice private grocers in areas where supply is abundant because he’s convinced that businesses are price-gouging consumers.” (08/20/26)
https://fee.org/articles/i-bought-beans-at-the-government-store/
- Note to Rick Scott: Stop Tweeting and Cut Up That Government Credit Card
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“Over the course of Scott’s relatively short career in the US Senate — he took office in 2019 and is now in his second term — he’s voted for trillions of dollars in deficit spending, especially military spending. Since Scott took office, the US government’s debt has gone from $16 trillion to $40 trillion. His party has controlled the US Senate throughout his tenure, and the House of Representatives for about half of that tenure. Not one thin dime gets borrowed or spent unless the both the House and Senate pass a bill, and the margins are often close enough that one or two votes — including Scott’s — decide the outcome. Scott’s perennial ‘someone should do something!’ tweets on the debt might be good politics, but even a cursory look at his actions demonstrates that he’s someone NOT doing something.” (08/20/26)
- Conservatives Are Wrong About Morality, Responsibility, and Freedom
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“One of the fundamental differences between libertarians and conservatives pertains to the concepts of morality, responsibility, and freedom. Conservatives are wrong and libertarians are right on this issue. Conservatives hold that before people can be permitted to be free, they have to be moral and responsible. … Libertarianism holds that people have the right to be free regardless of whether they are sufficiently moral or responsible. Freedom is a natural, God-given right. … It is only through freedom that people can become moral or responsible. The conscience is like a muscle—it must be constantly exercised to be strengthened.” (08/20/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/08/20/conservatives-are-wrong-about-morality-responsibility-and-freedom/
- A Wealth Tax Built on Billionaires Who Aren’t Really Billionaires
Source: Reason
by Veronique de Rugy“There’s an old saying: Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach. A similar idea underscores the debate over wealth taxes in California and elsewhere: Those who can, build companies. Those who can’t, devise ways for the government to take shares in what others have built. This new version might sound unfair until you listen to Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D–Calif.) pitch for an allegedly onetime, 5 percent wealth tax on California billionaires, tied to November’s vote on Proposition 40. Space constraints prevent us from surveying all that’s wrong with wealth taxes here. But as a reminder, they raise very little income for the government, are an administrative nightmare, could be unconstitutional, and create enormous disincentives to build the kind of wealth that creates jobs and funds government services through other taxes in the first place.” (08/20/26)
https://reason.com/2026/08/20/a-wealth-tax-built-on-billionaires-who-arent-really-billionaires/
- Don’t Let Washington Pick the Next Apple
Source: The Daily Economy
by Stefan Bartl“AI firms, whether OpenAI, Anthropic, or competitors that do not yet exist, should remain free from Washington’s ownership. Washington cannot credibly act as regulator and shareholder at the same time. Nor does Washington possess special knowledge about which AI company, model, or technical architecture will prevail. If the US government selects an AI champion, that company could become insulated from market forces in an industry that will help define the future. The lesson of BlackBerry and Apple is not that OpenAI will lose or that Anthropic will win. The lesson is that nobody knows which company will succeed, and Washington should not decide.” (08/20/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/dont-let-washington-pick-the-next-apple/
- Iran proves that it might change its military leaders, but it’s not changing strategy
Source: Fox News
by Erfan Fard“Military appointments in authoritarian states, particularly during wartime, reveal priorities, threat perceptions, institutional loyalties and leadership fears. The new military and security hierarchy under Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei should therefore be read as more than the reconstruction of a command structure damaged by war. It is an order of battle with two purposes: confronting the United States and Israel abroad and preserving the Islamic Republic against instability at home. Those elevated are not a postwar generation seeking accommodation with Iran’s adversaries, but veterans of the revolutionary-security establishment, formed through war, intelligence operations, ideological conflict, asymmetric warfare and domestic coercion. Claims that leadership decapitation has produced meaningful regime change in Tehran should be treated with caution.” (08/20/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/iran-proves-might-change-military-leaders-not-changing-strategy
- Alligator Alcatraz may be gone. Its shameful history remains
Source: Palm Beach Post
by Mark V Barrow, Jr.“The migrant detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz is closed, but much about it remains unresolved. There are lawsuits over detainees’ treatment, environmental claims over damage to protected wetlands and uncertainty about the future of the airstrip it was built on. One aspect of the facility has drawn far less attention, though ― the name itself, and the long history of associating alligators with racist ideas about people of color. … As early as the 18th century, French explorers and naturalists began claiming that alligators and crocodiles showed a preference for attacking and consuming people of African descent. Plantation owners in the South eagerly repeated these stories because they discouraged enslaved people from escaping into marshes and swamps, where pursuing them proved difficult. The idea gained much wider traction after the Civil War.” (08/20/26)
- What is Trump afraid we will see about how the tariffs were formulated?
Source: The Hill
by Phillip W Magness and Sara Albrecht“When the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative unveiled its now-infamous ‘Liberation Day’ tariff formula in April 2025, economists quickly noticed that something was not right. At first glance, the formula looked impressive. It had Greek symbols, academic citations, and all the trappings of serious economic analysis. But once economists began examining it, the sophistication quickly fell away. Key terms, they noticed, effectively cancel one another out, leaving little more than a calculation driven by bilateral trade deficits. For one of us, an economist, that raised a simple question: How did this formula come to be? So he filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the records behind it. … When the agency finally responded, it said it had found 31 pages of responsive records. It would release none of them — not one email, calculation or even redacted paragraph.” (08/20/26)
- An Africa that prizes economic (and political) freedoms
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“In recent years, Africa’s economies have felt a powerful impact from drought, debt, and violent discord. Yet, amid the turbulence, the southern nation of Zambia has charted a determined, if halting, course toward potential growth. Its latest election, on Aug. 13, set another example in its ability to achieve economic gains while (mostly) protecting its democratic system. The election ‘has far greater international significance than the country’s landlocked status and modest economic size might imply’, in the view of a senior researcher at Chatham House, a respected London-based think tank. President Hakainde Hichilema, who was elected to a second five-year term with 60% of the vote, will govern ‘a country at the centre of Africa’s critical minerals competition, debt diplomacy and shifting regional alliances’, wrote Christopher Vandome this month. And, he added, ‘Zambia’s prized democratic reputation will also be tested.'” (08/19/26)
- Why the French Revolution Was Not a Libertarian Revolution
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Ryan McMaken“A common misconception about the French Revolution is that it was some sort of classical liberal or libertarian revolution. That is, some still claim that the revolution was, for all its flaws, in ‘the spirit’ of what is historically known as liberalism. The flawed interpretation of the revolution is kept alive for two reasons. One is used among the post-liberal conservatives who try to use the bloodshed of the French revolution as ‘evidence’ that liberalism leads to totalitarianism. A common mistake is to equate the liberal ideology with the theories of various ‘enlightenment’—and un-liberal—theorists such as Rousseau. Another mistake occurs when modern libertarians attempt to rehabilitate the French Revolution to portray is as pro-freedom phenomenon.” (08/20/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-french-revolution-was-not-libertarian-revolution
- Nolan Denaro on The Kyle Anzalone Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Trump Must Make a Bad Deal to End the War, Will His Ego Get in the Way?” (08/21/26)
- Freakonomics Radio, episode 542
Source: Freakonomics
“Is a Museum Just a Trophy Case?” (08/21/26)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-a-museum-just-a-trophy-case-update/
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 08/21/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Rage Darkens as MTG Drops Midterm Bombshell: GOP Is Toast.” (08/21/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/214581/trump-rage-darkens-mtg-drops-midterm-bombshell-gop-toast
- The Tom Woods Show, episode 2789
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Why the Campaign Against JD Vance?” (08/21/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2789-why-the-campaign-against-jd-vance/
- Sal and Mark, episode 17
Source: Free Talk Live
“Patri Friedman joins Sal and Mark this week for a wide ranging conversation about the Free Cities movement, charter cities, and why special autonomous zones may be the most practical path to freedom in the modern world.” (08/21/26)
- Reasonably Optimistic, 08/21/26
Source: Washington Post
“Host Megan McArdle talks with UCLA sociologist Gabriel Rossman about scandal, status and public shaming.” (08/21/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/21/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“‘Golden Age’ Milestone — Debt Hits $40 Trillion.” (08/21/26)
- The Political Orphanage, 08/20/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Chinese Lobbyists Hate California Pig Laws.” (08/20/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/chinese-lobbyists-hate-california-pig-laws
- Serious Trouble, 08/20/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Disney sues the FCC to vindicate its First Amendment rights; Luigi Mangione pleads guilty, and wants to avoid being prosecuted twice; AI gets an expert witness in trouble.” (08/20/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/the-happiest-place-on-earth-a-courtroom
- Underthrow Podcast, 08/20/26
Source: Underthrow
“Argentina Tried Socialism. Then Came the Chainsaw.” (08/20/26)
- Ron Paul on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Ron Paul on the Iran War, the National Debt and Flock Cameras.” (08/20/26)
- Sal and Mark, episode 16
Source: Free Talk Live
“Jason Bassler from the Free Thought Project joins to talk about the growing resistance movement against Flock cameras, the abuse of this surveillance technology by law enforcement including federal agencies like ICE, ATF and the FBI, and what ordinary people can actually do to push back. Scott Horton then joins to share his perspective on US and Israeli foreign policy toward Iran, how Netanyahu played checkers with Trump, and where the current standoff is likely headed. Scott also touches on the Russia Ukraine war and the very real danger of nuclear miscalculation between the US and Russia.” (08/20/26)
- The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 08/20/26
Source: The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen
“Why Did the Founders Fear Democracy?” (08/20/26)
https://rosenjeffrey.substack.com/p/why-did-the-founders-fear-democracy?
- Libertarian Angle, 08/20/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Libertarian Angle: The Ten Commandments in the Public Schools?” (08/20/26)
- Advisory Opinions, 08/20/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Let’s Pretend We’re Justices | Interview: Chris Scalia.” (08/20/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/lets-pretend-were-justices-interview-chris-scalia/
- The Anarchist Experience, episode 594
Source: The Anarchist Experience
“Rich & Riley talk about what Riley’s been up to while gallivanting, and will Utah run out of water if they put in a new data center.” (08/20/26)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2026/08/20/the-anarchist-experience-594/
- The Briefing Podcast with Michael Waldman, 08/19/26
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
“Let’s Unstick Congress (with Tom Malinowski and Maya Kornberg).” (08/20/26)
- Speech at Cambridge University’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk
Source: Cobden Centre
“I [Max Rangeley] talk through some of the complexities with respect to military AI and robotics, then talk through some different theories of consciousness, from neuroscience, physics and other fields, and what they mean for the possibility of machine consciousness.” (08/20/26)
- The Science of Politics, 08/19/26
Source: Niskanen Center
“Can housing policy overcome lousy folk economic thinking?” (08/19/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/can-housing-policy-overcome-lousy-folk-economic-thinking/
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 08/19/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“OOF the Creeping DSA Communism Inside the Democratic Party.” (08/19/26)